The Centennial Clock project is certainly one of Yerington Rotary’s most visible and recognizable projects.

The idea for a clock was suggested by Joe Dini probably in December 2006.  Since it was supposed to be given to the City at their Centennial celebration in May 2007 the initial worry was “could the project be completed in time”.  Fortunately, two Rotarians (Steve Rye and David Fulstone II ) stepped up and volunteered to manage the project.   Where to put the clock was one of the first questions.  The chosen location brought more problems.  The selected location is on U.S. Post Office land so their permission was required.  In addition, Main Street is a Nevada State highway so NDOT’s permission was required.  With only  five months to complete the project those two permissions were a real worry.  

Construction wise you can’t just stand the clock up on the sidewalk.  What keeps the clock standing is a four foot by four foot by four foot block of rebar reinforced  concrete under the sidewalk and substantial anchor bolts holding the base of the clock.  There is more to building that anchor block than just digging a hole.  There are storm sewer lines, natural gas mains and electric power lines (for the street lights) running along Main St.  With considerable care and some luck the anchor was constructed by Desert Engineering.  Steve Rye thinks that Desert Engineering also donated the concrete needed for the anchor block.  

The clock that was chosen for the project was manufactured by the Electric Time Company and came with a $20,000 price tag.  From early on Davey and Steve were working with the Walker River Basin Communities Foundation to get their help in covering the cost.  They split the cost with our Club, we each paid $10,000.  The clock shipped in several parts.  The under structure is, of course, included in the concrete anchor block.  The clock base was lifted into place using Fulstone’s front end loader.  The clock face unit was lifted into place by Sierra Pacific (now NV Energy).